


So Far From Perfect

by theauthor2010



Series: Desperate Series [2]
Category: Glee
Genre: M/M, Prostitution
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-06-06
Updated: 2011-07-24
Packaged: 2017-10-20 04:36:05
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 15,219
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/208797
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theauthor2010/pseuds/theauthor2010
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sequel to Desperate Endeavor. Blaine Anderson just wants to start a new life, far away from his past as a prostitute. It's not going to be that easy but with the help of friends like Mike, Tina and Brittany and the love of his life, Kurt, maybe Blaine will make it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Blaine was almost asleep when a terrifying stream of thoughts began to cross his mind.

He had been diagnosed with a chest cold, which included swelling and fluid in the lungs. It wasn't that scary of a diagnosis by itself but he hadn't received the results of his bloodwork yet and well, it reminded him of the symptoms of something else. He had been working as a prostitute for years and even though he was supposed to participate in safe sex, he wasn't always able to enforce that rule.

He was lethargic, sick and not quite like himself. He got up with a cold panic in his chest. He sat up in bed with the most terrifying thought possible: what if it was HIV or worse? What if he had caught and passed along some horrible STD? If he had any kind of disease, chances were that he had passed it down to both innocents and not-so-innocents alike. Oh god, he could have passed it onto Kurt. Sure, they had used condoms most of the time but ninety percent of the time didn't equal one hundred and Blaine had become lazy.

No longer able to lie in bed, Blaine got up. The room was cold, but he was always cold. He carefully padded his way into the adjoining study, where Mike said he was free to use the computer if he wanted. He booted it up and opened the web browser, searching: HIV.

The results were just what he’d feared. Early symptoms of an HIV infection included many things that Blaine had exhibited in the past couple of months, including fever, tiredness, chest cold and other flu-like symptoms. He shook his head, as though he were trying to dismiss the thoughts, make them fall out of his brain. Unfortunately, they weren’t leaving him so easily. Blaine took a deep breath but nothing could stop the panic attack that hit him. He inhaled sharply, several times, hyperventilating. He closed his eyes but the words on the screen burned on the back of his eyelids. He felt dizzy, the spinning the worst he’d ever felt.

He thought he was going to throw up, resisting the urge to heave, when he heard footsteps. He silenced himself, praying that he didn’t wake Mike up because he hated all the inconvenience he caused the other man. “Mike?” he whispered, his voice not sounding at all like his own. He couldn’t stop gulping in air like an idiot.

“Nope.”

Blaine shook his head. No, he did not need to see Kurt right then. He minimized the window and turned his head. “Kurt,” he said softly, spinning the chair all the way around. “What are you doing awake?” His boyfriend had looked so tired the last couple of days. He had been sure that Kurt would sleep well through the night, the way that he always overworked himself.

“I could say the same for you,” Kurt said, narrowing his eyes a little. Of course he knew that something was up; he was Kurt and he knew Blaine better than anyone Blaine had ever known. He knew Blaine even better than Blaine knew himself, as clichéd and silly as that was. “What’s going on sweetheart? Why aren’t you in bed?”

“I couldn’t sleep,” Blaine said quickly, because that wasn’t a lie. He took in another shuddering breath, trying to stop his heart from beating as fast as it was. He stood up, trying to get Kurt to stop paying attention to him. Kurt would be able to tell that he was hysterical if he didn’t manage to calm himself down. “I had some stuff on my mind and then I got up to use the computer for um, well, something to you know, do.”

“I see,” Kurt mumbled, sitting at the desk chair he had been occupying only seconds before. “I can’t sleep either, so what’s on your mind Blaine?”

He hadn’t been expecting that. “N-nothing at all,” he said softly, his voice shaky and breathing erratic.

“I had panic attacks during high school,” Kurt said bluntly. “You’re going to go into one if you don’t breathe, sit down. Blaine, what’s going on?” He got up so that Blaine could sit down.

It was really hard to lie to Kurt. Blaine resigned himself to his fate and walked over to the computer, where he sat down and restored the window. “I was thinking about the doctor’s appointment I just had and the symptoms that I’ve been having lately,” he admitted, softly. “It reminded me of something that I’d read once about HIV and AIDS, so I had to go check it out online. Unfortunately, that just made the fear worse b-because it confirmed what I was afraid of.”

Kurt’s eyes went wide with the realization of what Blaine was saying. Blaine couldn’t see much in the dim study but he knew Kurt was shocked and had not considered the same terrifying think that he had. His mouth hung open a little in an ‘o’ shape. “Blaine, I didn’t think of that,” he whispered softly. “Do the symptoms really line up?”

Blaine nodded. He knew Kurt would be disgusted with him. “Chest infection, flu-like symptoms, fever and stuff…”

“Oh my god…”

Blaine wavered at the horrified look in Kurt’s eyes and tears started to fall from his own. He didn’t even know he was crying until he tasted the saltiness of a tear on his lips. He was freaked out; actually, he was far beyond freaked out at that point. Kurt lunged forward and hugged him tightly. He accepted the comfort gratefully.

"I'm scared, Kurt," he whispered. Blaine hated to admit it but just he had to. He was damned terrified at just the possibility that something could be direly wrong with him. "If I gave you some horrible disease I will just...kill myself. I mean, I know we were safe most of the time but there's always a chance. I just...I'm really scared."

Sympathy and worry crossed through Kurt's eyes simultaneously. His soft blue green eyes shimmered a little. He reached over and touched Blaine's cheek. "Sweetheart, don't you go jumping to any conclusions," he soothed. "Yes, I will be the first to admit your symptoms sound bad but you also lived in a crappy apartment in a highly populated city, right?"

"Right,” Blaine relented.

"You were bound to get sick sooner or later," he soothed. "I don't want you jumping to any conclusions Blaine. That's not a healthy way to react and will make you panic for no good reason."

"What if I do have it?" he whispered.

"If you did," Kurt whispered, looking as though he hated himself for even considering those words, "nothing would change about us. I love you so much Blaine Anderson. You are the light of my life and we take care of each other. I would be right here for you."

"But it would be more than that Kurt," he explained. “I…I would be a huge financial mess, sex would be too risky, I could- I could die. I could have given it to you Kurt.”

And there was his greatest fear. Oh God. He hadn’t prayed or been religious in years but clinging to Kurt’s side, he prayed to any god that was listening that he wasn’t HIV positive and that he hadn’t given Kurt something. “I swear to you,” he whispered. “I will never forgive myself if I hurt you Kurt.”

Kurt held him tightly, just rocking him from side to side. “It’s alright, it’s going to be alright.”  
Tags: angst, au, kurt/blaine, r, so far from perfect


	2. Bright all the same.

Blaine knew that it would be another couple of days, at the very least, until he received the results of the bloodwork, but he was already going insane. He was terrified. He wasn't sure that he would be able to make it if he was diagnosed with HIV. Of course, he knew that today it was possible to live a full and healthy life with HIV, but he just didn't have the mental strength to make it. He was weak, exhausted and had already been through so much. He wasn't sure that he would be able to survive. He was terrified.

He heard footsteps, looked up and saw Mike. He was pretty sure that Kurt had told Mike. That was confirmed when Mike spoke, only to say, "It'll be okay Blaine." He joined Blaine at the kitchen table and smiled up at him. Blaine didn't mind that Kurt told at all, of course. He owed his whole life to Mike Chang and admired the man so much. Mike was the closest thing Blaine had to a best friend.

He shrugged a little at his best friend’s words; he was just unable to be that positive. "I'm scared," he said in a low voice, "but I'm more scared that I gave something to Kurt and god knows how many guys."

Mike nodded, gently accepting his fears rather than reassuring him again. Blaine really admired that about Mike. He moved his chair over so that he was next to Blaine and put a hand on his shoulder, firmly. "You're the bravest guy I know, Blaine. You and Kurt are truthfully the men I admire most. You both have been through so much and endured those things with courage, bravery and a strong face I could never, ever keep up to."

Blaine honestly didn’t think he was admirable. He ran from everything that he was afraid of. Of course, he did agree that Kurt was the bravest person he knew, so he looked to Mike for a little distraction. “What was Kurt like in high school?” he asked, the topic change so jarring that it was obvious what he was doing, but he didn’t care. He wanted to know. He wanted to draw more inspiration from the man he loved so much.

Mike leaned back, looking nostalgic. Blaine was glad that he was one hundred percent willing to indulge Blaine’s change of subject. “Kurt was really brave,” he said softly, frowning as he thought about it. “He was picked on a lot, for being gay, for being a member of the glee club. He never let people’s opinions get to him though. He wore what he wanted to wear and did what he wanted to do, even if he received heavy harassment for doing it. I honestly wish I’d stood up for him more in high school but I was so incredibly, painfully shy and scared.”

“So, he was bullied badly?” Blaine asked, thinking about Dave Karofsky, one of Kurt’s bullies who had turned around to become one of his closeted clients. He felt bad for the guy, even if he had knocked Blaine around once or twice during a rough sexual encounter.

“It was worse for Kurt than for most of us and well, our group of friends was always bullied pretty badly.”

Blaine shook his head. “I don’t know how he kept standing there and taking it,” he said. “As soon as the bullying got too bad, I got myself the hell out of the situation. I lied to my parents as to why I was being bullied, of course, because they weren’t okay with me being gay, but I could have never stayed at my first high school and kept facing it.”

Mike’s eyes shone with admiration as he spoke of Kurt. “He always told his bullies that one day they’d find themselves working for him,” he said gently. “He was right, of course. He was always right when it came to things like that.”

“He’s mentioned glee club before,” Blaine said thoughtfully. “What was that like?”

“It was the best part of high school,” Mike told him quickly. “It started out as a small group of outcasts but we quickly became a family. Like I told you, I was really shy in high school, but glee helped me discover a love of dance that I had let lay dormant for pretty much my entire life. I would have never found out so much about myself if I hadn’t ended up joining glee club. Kurt was pretty much a star from the moment I met him. You should hear him perform. I’m honestly surprised that he went into fashion instead of Broadway sometimes, but they were equal passions in his mind, I think.”

“I’ve heard him sing before,” Blaine commented. “I would love to hear him perform though. I bet it’s breathtaking, like he is.”

Mike nodded. “We had so much teenage drama,” he said reverently, laughing a little. “There was always someone dating someone else, or cheating on someone else. A lot of the drama revolved around Kurt’s stepbrother Finn and his long time girlfriend Rachel. You met Finn, right?”

Blaine nodded.

“Finn’s an awesome guy who’s finally screwing his head on straight but as a teenager he was crazy,” Mike said chuckling.

“Were you and Kurt involved in that drama at all?” Blaine asked.

“Kurt wasn’t,” Mike said. “He had a crush on Finn once upon a time, long before they were stepbrothers but that fizzled out pretty quickly when their parents got serious about each other. I was in it briefly, but luckily I avoided the worst of it. Tina, you met Tina, she and I started dating after she broke up with her boyfriend Artie. There was also a little drama after senior year ended and we broke up. Then she started gravitating towards girls, Brittany in particular, and that was the end of that.”

Blaine could definitely sense the sadness in Mike’s voice. “You still love her don’t you?” he asked, gently. It was cliché and sad but he could see it in Mike’s eyes.

“A little,” Mike said. “I haven’t held a steady anything for more than a couple of months since.”

“We need to fix that,” Blaine said, smiling and for once forgetting about his problems. “Kurt and I should totally go matchmaker on you.”

“I am scared,” Mike declared.

“Who’s doing what kind of matchmaking?” Kurt asked, walking into the room. Blaine could tell that he was tired, overwhelmed by the same worry that Blaine was, but still his eyes sparkled. “I want to do some matchmaking.”

“We need to find Mike someone,” Blaine said, his brightness forced but bright all the same.


	3. Chapter 3

“Mr. Anderson,” the woman on the phone greeted warmly, after announcing herself as being from the doctor’s office. “Is there a time that you can come down to the clinic to discuss your test results with the doctor?”

“As soon as I can,” Blaine blurted out. He had to know and the fact that his doctor wanted to see him and couldn’t tell him over the phone made him think things were definitely bad. His heart started racing in his chest the moment that she began speaking and he wasn’t sure it would stop. “I’ll be there as soon as I can see him.”

“Today at 3:30?” she suggested.

“Great. Bye.”

Blaine hung up the phone forcefully and found that his hand was shaking. He sat down and yelled, “Kurt!” He knew that it was pathetic that he needed Kurt so much to function but he did. He needed Kurt to be there with him. Of course, like the angel he was, Kurt immediately ran from the other side of the house. He saw Blaine sitting by the phone and his face fell.

“Did you get a call with the results?” he asked, shrilly.

“No,” Blaine mumbled. “I have an appointment to go talk to the Doctor at 3:30. You’ll go with me, won’t you?”

“Of course,” Kurt said, breathing what Blaine knew to be a sigh of relief. He wasn’t ready to deal with what was going to happen any more than Blaine was. He was just as scared as Blaine was as well but he wouldn’t admit that. He had to be the strong one. “Let me grab my things and we’ll get there early.”

They got there almost an hour early, to be exact, which Blaine had to admit was a very bad idea but he knew that Kurt was as nervous and hyped up as he was. They sat in the waiting room for a very long time, Kurt stroking the back of Blaine’s hand in an attempt at some sort of comfort. “You’re going to be okay Blaine,” he said gently. “I promise that everything is going to end up just fine.”

“It might not, Kurt,” he said. He didn’t mean to be negative when Kurt was trying his best to keep both of their hopes in the right place, but Kurt had to accept that there was a huge chance he was a walking disease. Even if he wasn’t whoring himself out on a street corner, the brand of prostitution that Blaine had taken part in was just as dangerous. It had the potential to be deadly. “If I have some kind of disease, I really meant what I said: I would want you to leave me. You can’t have a sick whore holding you down.”

Kurt’s face contorted and he looked as though he were about to slap Blaine in the face. Instead he clenched his fist and turned his chair so that he was facing Blaine. “You are not a whore, Blaine,” he said, keeping his voice low for the sake of the elderly couple across the waiting room. “You are not. You were in a situation that quickly went beyond your control and you were put into horrible, horrible situations but that does not define who you are. You’re sweet, beautiful, and talented; I fell in love with you so quickly it was practically love at first sight, something I don’t believe in. Frankly, that doctor could tell me absolutely anything and I wouldn’t think of leaving you. So, please, stop it.”

He had expected Kurt to object but the passion caught Blaine off guard completely. He swallowed and couldn’t object. “Okay, Kurt,” he mumbled, praying that he wouldn’t be put in a situation where he had to try and force Kurt to leave him. He didn’t think his will was very strong and it was definitely no match for Kurt’s. “It’ll be okay if you say that it will be okay.”

Blaine was biting his nails to the finger when the doctor finally called him. He jumped up to his feet, heart pounding uncomfortably. Kurt put a hand on his shoulder and walked with him into the doctor’s office. It was a pristine, neat office and the man smiled uneasily at both of them. Blaine swore that could only mean a death sentence. “What is it?” he practically barked before the man could sit down.

“Mr. Anderson?” he asked. “Are you quite alright?”

“No, not really,” Kurt answered, when Blaine could not. “Does he have HIV, doctor? We’ve both gone crazy worrying about this and we need to know.”

The man looked surprised and then narrowed his eyes a little. “Oh, I can see why you suspected that,” he said, putting two and two together but acting like he never suspected it himself. “No, the blood tests did not reveal an HIV infection. You will of course, need to take another blood test in six months to be positive of that, if you believe were exposed or there was any underlying risk. We definitely did find an infection which x-rays also revealed inflamed the issue around the lungs and in the chest. It’s bacterial and can be cleared up with some antibiotics. We’re going to take a few x-rays to make sure the heart and the lining around it wasn’t affected but you’re a young guy. With some rest and antibiotics you should be fine. I asked you to come in so we could take follow up x-rays and such today.”

Blaine felt like he was going to cry. He covered his eyes and tried to stop himself but he was crying in seconds anyway. “Oh my god,” he whispered, embarrassed but completely unable to stop the tears from coming. How could he after he’d been freaking out, panicking over this? He wasn’t out of the woods yet, of course, but god, it was negative. He wiped his eyes and smiled at the doctor and then at Kurt, who flung his arms around him. “Kurt, it’s going to be okay,” he whispered. “It’s going to be okay.”

Kurt held onto Blaine tightly and he could feel him looking over his shoulder at the doctor. “Thank you,” he said. “Did you find anything else in Blaine’s bloodwork?”

“Some pretty severe vitamin deficiencies,” the doctor explained, nodding. “That contributed to the high rate of infection, I believe. I’ll write down the name of a supplement that I recommend when a patient is deficient in many areas. Also, did you get the referral to the mental health specialist that I forwarded to your address?”

“Oh yes,” Blaine said softly. “I forgot with all of the worry going on.”

“Definitely go see her as soon as you can,” he said. “She’s an amazing woman.”

“I will.”

The doctor smiled at both men. He wrote out a prescription and handed it to Blaine. Blaine took it, looking at Kurt. “Go let Annette up front know to sign you in for some follow up x-rays. Please have a good afternoon, boys,” he said. “I wish the best for both of you.”

Blaine was glad that Kurt held his hand as they walked outside and he was glad that Kurt talked to the woman behind the front desk. He felt like he was going to faint but he had never felt so much hope in his life.


	4. Chapter 4

Kurt leaned down and kissed him, quickly and impulsively but the kiss lingered for a long moment. Blaine could feel all of the passion and relief coming off of Kurt in waves. He knew that he had been just as terrified as Blaine was and now they had relief. They knew that he was okay. Blaine choked and tried his best not to cry anymore because it was stupid. There was no reason to cry anymore. "We're okay," he told Kurt with a heavy voice. He sniffled and choked a little, blushing heavily. He must have looked like a fool to everyone around him but he didn’t care.

The rest of the appointment went by in a blur. Blaine’s x-rays were taken care of and he and Kurt went to the neighboring pharmacy to put in the prescriptions. “I got sick from not taking care of myself and my crappy apartment, just like you said,” Blaine whispered, walking around the pharmacy with Kurt while they waited for his medications to be ready. “Everything is going to be alright, just like you said Kurt.”

“I’m pretty damned good at figuring things out,” Kurt said. Blaine couldn’t help the way his heart skipped a beat at the way Kurt looked then. He just looked so happy, relieved and Blaine was honestly starting to feel that he had hope for the future. He and Kurt actually had a future together.

They got the medicine quickly and went back to Mike’s place. When they arrived, the third man looked on the verge of a mental breakdown. Blaine was surprised at that. He knew that Mike cared about him but still it was interesting to see someone that wasn’t interested in him sexually actually caring about him and what happened to him. “Guys, what did the doctor say?” he asked sharply, springing up when the door opened.

“I’m okay,” Blaine said. “I have a really bad infection and a crappy immune system but I’m fine. I don’t have it. I’m fine.”   
.  
Mike pulled them both into a hug. "I am so happy for you guys," he said, clinging to them. "I was definitely worried. I just...I'm really glad you're okay Blaine. We're going to have to take good care of you and keep you healthy."

Blaine nodded. "Good deal."

Mike glanced around. "Well I'm done for the day. Can I take you two to dinner?" He looked so excited, a huge smile on his face. "I just feel totally in the mood to celebrate."

"Me too," Blaine said. "Sure, if Kurt wants to."

"Kurt wants to," Kurt assured.

They took Mike’s car and headed out to one of Mike’s favorite restaurants. Blaine kept his eyes on Kurt. Kurt smiled at Blaine and then sighed a little. “You know, I really need to get home,” he said sadly. “Business can’t manage without me. After you have your therapist appointment Blaine, I really need to go. I know that I can’t make you come with me yet if you don’t feel comfortable but I’ll really need to.”   
“I should just get an appointment back in New York,” he said. “The city is probably crawling with therapists. I want to go back home. I just…” He looked over at Mike, who was driving, and nodded. “I really am going to miss you Mike. It’d be hard to leave after all you’ve supported me through.”

“You haven’t seen the last of me,” Mike assured. “We’re almost there.”

The restaurant was a small family owned Asian diner. Mike shook his head a little bit. “You know that when Tina and I were dating, my mother used to insist on coming on dates with us here. It is the best place ever though, despite the bad memories.”

“That’s horrible,” Blaine said, wincing.

“My mother is horrible,” Mike said, grinning. “I love the woman but she’s completely overbearing and everything. The end of high school was a miracle for me because it meant that she couldn’t torment me and my dates anymore.”

They got out of the car and walked into the restaurant. The waitress, a small Asian girl with a huge smile, immediately walked up to them. “Mike Chang?” she asked, grinning. “I haven’t seen you in here in quite some time. How are you doing handsome? Who are your adorable friends? Gosh, you need to come in here more.”

Blaine suppressed a laugh at the excitable woman. She gathered up some menus and took them to the side of the room, right near a window. “I have been so busy with work,” Mike said politely. “This is Kurt and Blaine. They’re friends from out of town, but they’re actually both natives of the area.”

“Awesome,” she said. “I need to get your number before you go Mike. It’s been too long. What do you guys want to drink?”   
She was really a hyper one. Blaine blinked and placed a drink order. Mike and Kurt did the same. “She’s cute,” Kurt teased Mike when the bubbly waitress bounced off. “Don’t forget Mike, Blaine and I have a matchmaking operation going on. We’re going to find someone for you.”

“Anyone but her,” Mike said, rolling his eyes a little bit. “She used to flirt with me all the time and it’s absolutely ridiculous.”

“What kind of girls, erm, girls and guys, do you like?”

Blaine and Mike both turned to Kurt when he asked that question, then Blaine turned back to Mike to listen to what he was saying. Mike turned red at the boy’s questioning, looking down at his hands. “I dunno,” he said shaking his head a little. “I like people who are um, definitely classy and old fashioned. Asian is a plus, but I think that’s my mom in the back of my mind to this day. Uh, you know, good personality, sense of adventure but okay with hanging around at home too.”

“That sounds a lot like some of my old friends,” Blaine mumbled, shaking his head. “If only I was still in good contact with some of them.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Mike asked. “Is my type prep school boy?” He winked at Blaine, who just shrugged.

“You like old fashioned guys who are really amusing all the same,” he said brightly. “I used to know a lot of those.”

“Blaine and I will plot,” Kurt assured Mike, hand on his shoulder. Blaine was definitely doing some quick plotting before he and Kurt went home. His mind was racing yet again, but this time it was for a good reason. It was nice to be thinking hysterically about something that wasn’t horrible and life altering.


	5. Chapter 5

After his disastrous meeting with a few other high school friends, Blaine was really nervous to meet Wes. Sure, they had been really good friends in high school, but as his meetings with other old friends showed, they were different. Things had changed far too much, but still, it would be awesome if they hit it off again. Blaine was learning how to make friends and plus, he really wanted to hook up Wes and Mike.

They met at a local coffee shop just down the street from Mike’s. Wes had already arrived when Blaine got there and wow, he looked just the same. Blaine practically expected him to take out a gavel, like he had when he’d run Warbler meetings. “Blaine Anderson,” he said, lighting up when he saw him. He stood up and to Blaine’s surprise, walked over and gave him a hug. Wes used to be very cold. Apparently some other things had changed since they last met. He did look overjoyed to see Blaine though, which meant this meeting was already going better than his last few.

They ordered coffee and then sat back down. Blaine wasn’t exactly surprised when Wes’ first question was, “What happened to you during your senior year?” he asked. He had already been graduated by that point but it was definitely worth asking. The Warblers all remained close, even after graduation. He had picked up that vibe during the last meeting he had. “I talked to Nick during your senior year and was shocked.”

“I moved,” Blaine said, lying with too much ease. “I found another school and had to go quickly.” He didn’t want to lie exactly but it was much better than telling the truth. Nobody needed to know about his life. He found it very hard to trust and with reason. Nobody, especially not someone like Wes, would be able to see him the same if they knew what he was. “A lot has changed since I last saw you,” he added, not wanting to completely lie to his former friend.

“Same here,” Wes said, giving him a gentle smile. It seemed that a lot had changed but at the core the guy was still the same. He paid attention to Blaine while he spoke, keeping his eyes on him. “What have you been doing recently?”

“I’ve been helping out this guy Mike,” he explained. “I’m going to move back to New York though to work with my boyfriend Kurt. He’s a major fashion designer and he’s been down here with me for way too long. I’m thankful for him though. He’s a great guy.”

“Mike… is that as in Mike Chang?” Wes asked curiously. “I used to know a guy named Mike Chang when I was younger. His family was in the West Central Ohio Asian Society.”

“That’d be the one,” he said. He definitely was glad he’d peeked up some interest already. The scheming part of his brain went off and Blaine nearly downright giggled. He had so much on his mind and his plans were forming.

“Awesome,” Wes said. “I’m also really glad to hear that you have a boyfriend. I know you were always a little lonely in school.”

“I was. I always wanted a boyfriend who really understood me and trust me, Kurt is just that. How’s your love life?” Blaine asked, laughing at himself for so abruptly changing the subject. He couldn’t believe that he was so conniving, but hey, it was for the best.

“I am single,” he said. “I have been single for way too long Blaine.”

“I have better things to talk about right now,” Blaine said eagerly, “but I think you should go on a double date with Kurt and I and Mike, before Kurt has to go back to New York. Would you be interested?”

Wes shrugged. “Sure, that’d be nice. Is he gay?”

“Bi,” Blaine answered.

“Sure, that’d be awesome.”

The rest of the coffee date was spent reminiscing about Warbler related things. Blaine was absolutely at ease with Wes, which was surprising. Back when he was at Dalton “at ease” and “Wes” were not two things that went together by any means. It felt amazing to just talk and remember a time before things got unbearably complicated. Not that Blaine didn’t love his life as it was with Kurt, but still, he missed the simpler times when he was simply a kid.

After about an hour passed, Wes looked down at his cell phone, business as always. At least that hadn’t changed in the slightest. “I have to go,” he said seriously. He passed over a business card. “Call me about this date thing. It sounds really nice. I haven’t been on a date in a really long time.”

When he got back from meeting Wes, Kurt was on the phone with Brittany. He could tell that it was Brittany because Kurt was talking about work and he had a certain tone when he talked to the new mother. “I’ll be back as soon as humanly possible Brittany,” he said. “I know that I’ve overstayed my welcome here and that I’m really needed back in the city. I am going to talk to Blaine – oh Blaine is right here. Okay, I’ll call you back sweetie. Tell Tina and Rissa that I love them.”

He hung up the phone and smiled gently at Blaine. “Hi sweetie,” he said. “How was meeting that guy from school?”

“It was great,” Blaine said cheerfully, sitting down next to his boyfriend. Kurt leaned over and pecked him on the lips. Blaine leaned over and kissed him back a little more deeply. “I asked Wes if he wanted to go on a double date with us and Mike. After we talked about that we went on and talked about all of the stuff we did as the Warblers. We talked about performances, practices, his gavel; it was awesome.”

Kurt smiled. “That’s fantastic,” he said. “Hey, listen Blaine. I um, was just talking to Brittany and I’m really needed back in New York. Would you be mad if I said that I really had to go on Saturday?”

“No, no,” Blaine said quickly. He already felt badly enough that he had kept Kurt from going to work when he needed to. He had caused Kurt a lot of business problems and he really wanted to stop doing that. “Would you be mad if I waited another week? I just want to go on this date and then sort some of the last things out with Mike. He’s given me so much that I might have to wait a little while longer.”

“That’d be fine,” he said. “You should go tell Mike about that date. We can try to do it Friday before I go.”

“Perfect,” Blaine said excitedly. “Let me go tell him. I’ll be right back.”

Mike’s reaction when he told him was pretty interesting.

"You got me a date?" Mike asked incredulously.

"Yes, as a matter of fact I did," Blaine responded with a bright smile. He had been so much happier since learning that he wasn't seriously ill. He was also feeling a lot better physically after he let that stress go. He breathed easier and was slowly clearing up. "His name is Wes Kim and he was one of my best friends when I was in high school. We met up and talked this afternoon. Coincidentally, he's been terminally single since high school, just like someone else I know and love."

“This will be interesting, won’t it?”

“Really interesting,” Blaine admitted.


	6. Chapter 6

They met at a small Italian restaurant for the double date. Blaine almost burst out laughing as Wes and Mike introduced themselves and Wes not-so-subtly checked the other man out. He had obviously still not learned that much about social skills. Mike noticed, but Blaine could easily see that he wasn’t bothered. "Mike Chang, Wes Kim," he said, smiling. "Oh and Wes, this is my boyfriend, Kurt."

"It's nice to meet you," Wes said, shaking both Mike and Kurt's hands. It was formal but it was Wes. Blaine held out Kurt's chair for him before sitting down.

Kurt lit up at that. "Thank you Blaine."

A waitress came by the table moments after introductions and took drink orders. They ordered some wine, everyone all awkward smiles. There was a pause and some quiet when the waitress left but Wes filled in the gaps. "So Mike," he said, "have you always been sure you'd manage a family business?"

“I figured I probably would,” he said. “My dad was in the business since I was a little kid. It was the weirdest thing ever, because when I was a kid I hated the idea but now that I’m an adult I love it. I like management.”

“That’s cool. I’ve been managing my family’s business affairs for the longest time. I thought I was the only one living that kind of life.”

“No, I guess we just have things in common.”

“How did you meet Blaine?” Wes asked, eying Blaine. It was so funny, hanging out with his old friend and feeling so natural. He looked over at Mike, knowing that Mike had to say something but couldn’t give away his secrets.

Mike managed it with an expert smile. “Well Blaine and I met through Kurt,” he said. “Blaine was staying in Ohio for awhile and he’d kind of been wandering around without a steady source of income. I needed someone with his brains working with me. I’m going to be sad to lose him to Kurt but I think that New York is the place for him. Actually, anywhere with Kurt is the place for him. Have you seen how into each other they are?”

“I’m a little lost right now,” Blaine filled in, shooting Mike a thankful look, “but I really can’t wait to go to New York again. I was living there for years, but I needed to come back to Ohio to really find my place. I’m thrilled to see more of the inner workings of Kurt’s business. Did you know that he was rated number five on a list of up and coming fashion designers? It’s not an empire or anything yet but it’s definitely getting there.”

Kurt raised an eyebrow. “Blaine, I didn’t know you knew so much about my business,” he said.

“I know exactly how many employees you have, the awards that you’ve won and your first major recognitions,” Blaine countered, teasing. “I admire you quite a bit. I couldn’t help become a fan after we met.”

Kurt blushed a bright red and Blaine found that he liked that he was the one causing that blushing.

“You two are unbelievably fluffy,” Wes said, shaking his head from side to side. “I always knew you’d be that way with a boy, Blaine.”

“Well, it’s obvious,” Blaine said. “I am just a fluffy kind of guy.”

The dinner went by very quickly and to Blaine’s joy, Wes only told two potentially embarrassing stories. Those were bad enough, but Wes had kept up the friend code and kept the most horrifying to himself. Blaine had cut him off before he even began to mention Blaine’s serenading a crush at his workplace, thank god. Mike and Wes really seemed to hit it off, having a lot in common.

Kurt and Blaine left early, Wes promising to drive Mike back. Blaine felt like an absolute genius. When they got home he laughed softly, nuzzling into Kurt's neck. "I can't believe it," he said. "I can't believe it worked. Mike and Wes were totally into each other. I am so, so good. Wes just popped into my mind when I thought of a guy for Mike and they were totally into each other. Even if nothing comes of it, at least Mike’s getting back in the dating world.”

"It's weird," Kurt said. "No offense but Wes still seems like he has a stick up his ass."

Blaine burst out laughing. "He does," he exhaled. "He's nice though. He's an old fashioned, charming kind of guy and he never had a problem being openly bisexual. He and I even tried flirting during my sophomore year but we were in too close quarters professionally. You can't date a guy like him when he's running your life."

"Well, I hope it goes well," he said. "I definitely hope it goes well." There was a long pause where they just sat there. Kurt curled up close and stroked Blaine's arm. "I got your therapist appointment for the day after you get home.”

Blaine winced, a slight fear passing through him. He had already gone through the worst so he knew that a therapist appointment wouldn’t be too bad but still he was scared. Opening up to Kurt and the little bit he had to Mike was hard enough. How was he going to tell a therapist about everything that happened to him? How was he going to be honest to some stranger in a sterile office? He tried to shake the fear from his head and leaned over, kissing Kurt on the lips. “I’m really going to miss you next week.”

“I’ll miss you too,” Kurt said. He sensed Blaine’s fear but didn’t say anything about it.

“At least you have a lot of work to do,” Blaine teased, knowing that Kurt had definitely neglected his duties. He felt bad but he knew the extra week would allow Kurt to work without distraction too. That was probably safest.

“You are right,” Kurt said, leaning up against Blaine and kissing him again. They kissed deeply, completely in tune. Blaine was more in love with Kurt than he’d ever been before. It was ridiculous the way this man had owned every part of him.


	7. Chapter 7

Blaine was a little sad when Kurt went back home, but at the same time he had to get ready to go home himself and he had a Mike Chang to totally grill. “Tell me everything about the date after Kurt and I left,” he said, plopping down on the sofa next to Mike after both men had finished that day’s work. “Did you and Wes hit it off as much as I thought you did? Was I right about him?” He couldn’t help that he was bouncing up and down like an overly enthusiastic puppy dog. He was so excited about the matchmaking job done well.

“It was honestly awesome,” Mike said, revealing the side of him that was still truly shy by blushing and averting his eyes from Blaine’s gaze. He was definitely smiling though, which was a good sign. “He’s a really nice guy. It was a fun date. The two of us have a lot in common.”

“Are you going to see him again?”

“Next Friday,” Mike responded with that same pleased expression. Blaine realized, watching Mike speak, that he was really going to miss him. Since high school, Blaine had not really had a friend. He lived with some guys but they were like him, people living in bad circumstances. Two of them were addicts and he had never really met the third. It was a scary place. Mike had brought him back to normal, back to the world where he could have regular friends.

“I’m gonna miss you Mike,” Blaine said plainly. “Seriously, I haven’t had a friend like you in years. I hate that I have to go home but I just – I really have to be with Kurt.”

“I’m just a phone call away,” Mike assured, nodding. He broke into a smile at Blaine’s confession. “I’m also a huge fan of video chatting and stuff. Plus, I’m taking my vacation in a couple of months. I think that you and Kurt have made New York my choice destination.”

“That’s awesome,” Blaine said, perking up at the prospect of Mike being there again soon. He looked the other man in the eye and blushed, because he knew the words he was about to speak were cheesy at best. “You know Mike it really means a lot to me that we’re friends. It’s been years since I had a good guy friend that I could trust. You treat me like just another guy, which is so cool.”

Mike seemed surprised by those words. “I never thought to treat you any different, Blaine,” he promised. “I know that you’ve been through a lot of really difficult things in your life, but you’re not undeserving or whatever. You’re a great guy and I hope when you get to New York, everything starts getting better. In fact, I know that everything is going to start getting better.”

He paused for a second and then lowered his head. “Blaine,” he said softly, “I need you to tell Kurt about the nightmares you’ve been having, as well as your therapist. I know they’ve gotten a lot better since Kurt came to stay here but that doesn’t mean they’re entirely gone or anything. Just, do that for me, okay? It could be that he’s the epic cure or whatever but at the same time it’s worth noting. I want everything to start getting better for you.”

He smiled. “Gotcha Mike.” It would be difficult but Blaine knew that he would do it for Mike and for the progress he knew he needed to make.

Blaine took Mike’s advice.

The day that he arrived home, he thought of his close friend when he confessed it to Kurt. “I just have been getting these terrible nightmares,” he said, not looking Kurt directly in the eye. He had failed to mention the nightmares to Kurt most of the time, and when he did have bad dreams he downplayed them. They were gone when Kurt was close anyway. “I hate it. They’ve been of bad clients, the living conditions I was in, a lot of scary stuff…”

Kurt looked at him with deep sympathy. He nodded slowly.

“They aren’t so bad when you’re around so I don’t even know why I’m mentioning them,” he said softly. “I mean, I don’t know, Mike made me promise that I’d tell you and the therapist. They’re really, really bad, but you might just be the cure. I think you are because you make me feel safe.”

Kurt smiled sadly. “Thank you for telling me Blaine,” he said, taking Blaine’s hand in his. “I definitely appreciate being told. You’ve taken a lot of painful things away from me, so honestly, I’d believe it. C’mon, let’s go to work.”

They got to the office pretty quickly. Blaine was excited for the first time to really get to see the ins and outs of Kurt’s beloved business. The small office was bustling with activity and everyone seemed very pleased to see Kurt. His boyfriend had a lot of respect from the people who worked for him. They walked to the back of the building where Kurt’s private office was. Brittany was waiting for them. She broke into a huge smile when they entered.

“I brought a guest!” Brittany said, pushing a large pink stroller up toward them. “I wanted to introduce Rissa to her godfather’s favorite boy.”

Blaine smiled at the girl somewhat awkwardly. He had forgiven Brittany for revealing that he was a prostitute to Mike, because it had ended up saving his life, but at the same time he was hesitant around her. She was intimidating in a way. He walked over to the stroller and bent down to look the baby in the eyes. She was a pretty baby with a tuft of dark hair on the top of her head and big, bright eyes. “Hi sweetie,” he said gently. “Rissa, I have heard so much about you.”

“I’ll be back, I have some reports to run,” Kurt said, eying a frustrated looking woman in the next office over. This gave Brittany and Blaine a little alone time which Blaine found awkward but at the same time of some comfort.   
Blaine coddled and cooed over the tiny baby. “She’s gotta eat,” Brittany said, picking her up carefully. The baby made soft noises of protest over being removed from the safety of her crib. “Can you grab me that bottle out of the stroller? It’s all made up.”

Blaine picked the baby bottle out of the stroller and handed it to the blonde. Brittany started feeding the baby, something that Blaine watched with complete and utter fascination. Brittany was soft, tender and it was obvious that she was a good mother. Blaine wondered if he would ever have kids. When he was younger, he had completely dismissed the idea because his parent’s traditionalist ways told him that he would never be able to have a kid if he was gay. Now, now that he knew real love, he wasn’t sure. He would definitely like that some day. He and Kurt would probably be really fantastic parents.

“Are you wondering what your babies with Kurt would be like?” Brittany asked cheerfully.

Blaine blinked. “Uh, maybe,” he mumbled. He didn’t understand how the girl was so freakishly dense but perceptive at once. It kind of scared him and he wasn’t sure why. “I don’t know if we ever would have kids but it is a nice thought.”

“You two would have adorable babies,” she declared. “I know now that two boys can’t have babies, just like two girls can’t, well not alone, at least, but you could have help like Tina and I had and have babies. You’d be a good father Blaine. You’d treat the baby really well and probably be a lot smarter than I am.”

He watched her feed the baby for awhile. He didn’t speak until finally he mumbled under his breath, “I don’t know if I’m the kind of guy who could have a kid. You and Tina do a great job though.” He knew that his past had nothing to do with his future and the ability to have a family, but still it affected him. Could a man who’s parents hated him and drove him out of town really be a parent?

"You're a good man, Blaine," Brittany said softly, finishing burping Rissa before looking up at him. "I know that you doubt yourself because of what you used to do, but you're good. If you don't believe me, ask Rissa. She's a good judge of character."

Brittany wiped her face and handed the baby to Blaine. He took her into his arms and held her carefully. "What do you say, sweetie?" he asked the child. "Is mommy right about me?" She gurgled and cooed low, so Blaine had to take that as a yes.

She was such a precious child that it literally hurt. “Thanks Brittany.”

He waited for Kurt, eagerly cooing over the child. He was going to learn more about working with Kurt and the therapist’s appoint was the next day. Things were on the right track after all.


	8. Chapter 8

The therapist that Kurt had arranged for Blaine worked out of a two story brick office building. Blaine and Kurt walked up to it together and there was no word for how Blaine felt except terrified. He was absolutely, positively terrified and didn't want to do it, but he tried to hide that. Kurt could tell, of course, because he was Kurt and Kurt knew Blaine better than anyone else. “Baby, you are going to be just fine,” Kurt said. “If this doesn’t work out then we’ll search for other options but it’s worth trying, right?”

“Right,” Blaine said, though he wanted to object. He was better with Kurt at his side. It was fine now that he and Kurt were back together permanently and he was out of that life. He was out of that life and it was over. Why did he have to tell some stranger about the things in his past he hated? Why did he have to blabber on and on about something that caused him so much pain? He didn’t like to focus on himself in normal situations. Getting psychiatric help was pretty much the ultimate means of focusing on himself.

They walked into the lobby, where a sign with directions indicated that the woman’s office was on the second floor. They took the stairs and were faced with a door that read: Dr. Brown, Psychology. Blaine reluctantly opened the door, letting Kurt in first before walking inside himself. There were several people sitting in the waiting room and Blaine couldn’t help averting their gazes. Sure, they were patients too and likely had problems, none of them had gone through the horrible things he had. None of them had allowed the horrible things he did to happen. He knew that it was dumb to have so much shame attached to himself but he did.

“Blaine Anderson,” called the receptionist at the front desk after what seemed like forever.

He got up. Kurt shot him a look and he felt like he was going to be sick. “Kurt, will you come with me?” he asked. “I mean, I know that I have to do this alone but at the same time I want you to be there when I meet her. Is that okay?” He stammered through his words and gave Kurt a very shy smile. Kurt nodded and followed him through the hallway and down to a room.

It was pretty simple and not as intimidating as Blaine thought it would be. There was a desk with padded chairs on both sides. At the far side of the desk was the therapist, Dr. Brown. She was a woman in her mid to late forties with brown hair and big eyes. She smiled at him. “Mr. Anderson?” she asked curiously, standing up to shake his hand. She shook both his hand and Kurt’s hand before Blaine introduced himself.

“Hi, I’m Blaine,” he mumbled. “This is Kurt. He’s my boyfriend. I just wanted him to come in with me for a second while I met you. I’m really, um, really nervous honestly. I don’t want to do this.”

She waved a hand, dismissing his fears. “Don’t worry about it, Blaine,” she said sweetly. “Many people are made nervous by things like this. It’s nice to meet you as well, Kurt.”

"I've done some pretty illegal and well, immoral things in my life," Blaine said. He wanted to get that out before he let Kurt leave the room. He didn't trust himself to be completely honest with the woman without Kurt keeping him honest and truthful. "Those things make talking to you a little harder."

The woman leaned forward. "Blaine, as long as nobody is currently in peril, all of your past doings are protected," she said softly. "I want you to feel completely safe here because you are."

He nodded. "Okay."

Kurt seemed to take that as his cue to leave. "It'll be fine love," Kurt said, kissing his cheek before pulling away. He walked out of the room, leaving Blaine alone to face his fears. Blaine swallowed, knowing that he had to face them but at the same time wanting to run out of the room screaming.

"I was a prostitute until I met him," Blaine said quietly. He looked up at the woman, seeing the appropriate sympathy in her eyes. "I was working as a rentboy for a prostitution agency. It was horrible and I'm here because Kurt and my best friend said I'm not over it and they really want me to get help. I didn’t think it did at the time but it really messed me up.”

"Are you over it and did it mess you up?” she asked bluntly.

"No," he whispered. "I can't forget a lot of the things I've done. Yes, it messed me up because I can’t stop thinking about it. It’s totally taking over my thoughts and I’m supposed to be getting better.”

Blaine then told her all he could. He told her about coming out and how his parents treated him like a big gay inconvenience, he told her about the pride that led him to leaving, he even told her about his first client and the way he broke. He told her about the world falling apart all because of prostitution.

"I can't let go of some of the pictures in my head...being hit..."

He swallowed and tried to tell her in a way that she could follow. He felt sorry for her, being forced to listen to his disjointed rambling. "I would get smacked around..." he admitted. “I remember once, one of my clients choked me. I thought he was going to kill me. Another guy liked to pull my hair... the agency actually charged guys more if they knew they'd mess a whore up..."

Blaine eventually admitted to the feelings of worthlessness at the bottom of all of the memories. “I can’t help feeling like becoming a whore was my choice,” he told the woman, his voice wavering slightly. “I know that it wasn’t, logically, and Kurt knows that it wasn’t as well. I just can’t help rethink things in my head over and over again. If I had just swallowed my pride and let my parents get me through high school, I could have started researching places that would hire me first. I might have been homeless or in financial trouble but I would have never been stupid enough to move out of New York and become a whore.”

“You don’t know that Blaine,” the woman said tenderly. “Also, something that you really need to focus on is the fact that you can’t know. What-ifs and how-comes never really do anyone good. You made the choices that you made and went down the road you did, but what matters right now is where you are. You are physically past all of those horrible things. Getting mentally past them is another story altogether but you are a strong, capable young man. Tell me now Blaine, what do you want from your future?”

Of all of the questions she asked him throughout the session, that one was surprisingly easy. “I want to be with Kurt for the rest of my life,” he said quickly, quietly. “He’s everything to me and I don’t want to do anything stupid to lose him. I want to marry him, you know? I want to have children and be together. I know my dreams are a little stereotypical and painfully domestic but that’s all I really want in my life. He saved me and brought me out of that world.”

“I think you can do that Blaine,” she said with a confidence. “Those are lovely dreams, but I have to encourage you to focus on your own dreams as well, independent of Kurt. It’s time to slowly start thinking about your life and what you’ll do with it. I think that all of your dreams, including those involving Kurt, will come true.”

Even though plenty of tears had come from it, Blaine walked out of the office at the end of the session feeling very good. He felt rejuvenated, confident. He still had a long way to go and the woman specifically mentioned wanting to keep an eye out for him, because of the potential post-traumatic stress but he was confident, so confident. He met Kurt in the lobby.

“You okay?” Kurt asked.

He actually was. He was very okay.


	9. Chapter 9

It took a few weeks, but Blaine really began to enjoy working for his boyfriend. He was acting as basically an assistant, which was a simplistic job, but at the same time he was learning the ins and outs of the business that meant so much to Kurt. During this time, he also definitely developed a friendship with Brittany. There was so much more to the airhead mother. She was sweet, sensitive and had a lot of insight to the world around her and Blaine’s conflicted emotions.

“I can’t believe that summer’s coming already,” Brittany said, as she filed through the paperwork on her desk. Blaine smiled and walked over. “It reminds me of a lot of the summers that we had back in Ohio. It was the only time of the year that I really liked the weather. Except for that summer before my junior year when I got lost in the sewers…that kind of sucked…”

Blaine ignored the sewer comment, because he wasn’t sure he could handle the conversation that would follow that. “I always hated the summers when I was a kid,” he said, picking up one of the files off of her desk and taking it over to his own which was across the room. “I didn’t want to go back home to my parents.”

“That really sucks,” she said, looking up at him. “I guess you and Kurt will have to make this summer awesome to make up for the ones you had that weren’t so good.”

Blaine nodded. He had been really working at getting his issues sorted out and he was excited about doing some nice things with Kurt. “Are you and Tina going to take Rissa to do anything fun this summer?” he asked, multitasking as he worked. He definitely thought that it’d be fun to do some things with a baby, let her see some amazing things for the first time.

Brittany nodded excitedly. “Yep,” she said. “I think that we’re going to meet Tina’s family at one of the summer picnics they hold at the park. I can’t wait until Rissa is bigger so that I can show her the swimming pool and all that kind of stuff. Maybe when she’s a little older we can even go to the beach.”

“That would be cool,” Blaine said, “very, very cool.”

Blaine’s days at work passed very quickly. He was busy and enjoying the busy nature of things. He was also saving up money, something he had never imagined before. Near the end of one of his longest work dates, he received a text from Mike that made his day.

\- Thank you!!!

Blaine frowned. He wasn’t sure what the text message meant, so he responded with a big “What?”

\- Things with Wes going really well! You’re awesome. Miss you. Bye!

Blaine laughed. Things were definitely going good. He had never heard Mike sound so hyper, even if it was only through a text message. He was just satisfied.

With work being busy, Blaine and Kurt didn’t get a lot of time to themselves. When they finally were alone it was a relief. Kurt came out of the shower and plopped down on the bed between him. He was wearing pajamas and looked absolutely exhausted as he reached out, holding his arms out for Blaine and giving him a positively pathetic look. Blaine took one look at Kurt and crawled into his arms. "It's sucked being so busy lately," Kurt said, cuddling Blaine close. "We need more alone time."

"We sure do," Blaine said. They hadn't been nearly as intimate either but Blaine knew that Kurt was letting him take care of his own needs first. "Do you think we'll have more soon?"

"Mhm," Kurt said, giving him a smile. "I haven't even really had time to make sure you're adjusting to work. Is everything okay?"

"It's great," Blaine said. "I love working with Brittany. She's such a sweetheart."

“She really is,” Kurt said. “We were always pretty good friends in high school. Did you know that she was my girlfriend during my ‘I must impress my father’ stage?”

Blaine blinked. “What?” he asked. “I thought that you were out and proud since you were like fifteen or sixteen years old.”

“I was,” Kurt mumbled, shaking his head. “I just went through this strange phase. It was right after my dad started dating Finn’s mom. I was jealous. Finn was sort of the son that my father always wanted. He was masculine, had the same type of interests as dad, not to mention the fact that yeah, he was straight. So, I dated Brittany and pretended to be straight. That didn’t last long.”

“I can’t imagine it lasting, no offense,” Blaine said, teasing him a little bit.

“Yeah,” Kurt said, shaking his head against the pillow. “We were always really good friends though. We went to the same school.”

“Speaking of school,” Blaine said with a bright smile, “Kurt, I’m going to go get my GED so that I can start taking college courses at night. I really need to get a degree in order to do what I want to do with my life.”

“What do you want to do Blaine?” he asked curiously. He leaned over and kissed Blaine on the neck.

Blaine shifted, laughing slightly. “Well, I know that it won’t be easy but I want to work with gay teenagers who find themselves homeless. I want to make sure that other kids find other options besides, well, the ones that I was forced to choose.”

A long moment passed between them and then Kurt squealed a little. "I am so proud of you," he said delicately. He leaned over and kissed Blaine on the lips slowly. The kiss was wonderful and he just melted into it, pressing himself closer. As much as he understood the reasons he was craving the former intimacy of their relationship. "Everything you do makes me such a proud, proud boyfriend. I'm so glad we met..."

"It wasn't under the best circumstances, really," he admitted.

"No," Kurt agreed, "but it was the only one for us. If you and I hadn't met like that I'd be desperately lonely and losing who I was and you'd be stuck in that horrendous life, right?"

“You are right,” he said, realizing just how in love he was. His heart hurt just looking at Kurt. He was absolutely, positively pathetic but he didn’t mind. It was part of who he was. “I love you so damned much Kurt.” He blushed, shyly. “Can you…make love to me?”

Kurt's face was a little red for a second. "We haven't in a long time, huh?" he asked, sheepishly looking up and down. "I didn't mean for us to really lose that part of our relationship. It just sort of happened and I wanted to give you time to take care of yourself."

"It was good that we waited," Blaine said seriously, kissing Kurt's lips lightly. "I just miss it so much. I miss feeling you inside of me. I miss being so closely connected."

"Well, I could never deny you."

Blaine couldn’t help the tiny thrill that passed through him at that. He absolutely loved that he had so much power over Kurt. "Thank you," he mumbled against his lips. They kissed desperately, but with an air of relaxation. They both knew that they had all the time in the world, as much as they wanted each other. Kurt made the first move, lifting Blaine’s shirt over his head. He shivered from the exposure and the thrill that it caused him. Even though their relationship had begun with sex, nothing would ever amaze Blaine as how much Kurt drew him in, turned him on and made what was once purely physical feel so emotional.


	10. Chapter 10

The clothes came off quickly. Kurt pressed Blaine back to the bed, running his hands over his chest. “I love every inch of you,” he confessed. He touched and rubbed every inch of him, apparently just trying to show him that. His hands were the softest things that Blaine had ever felt. The lightest touches of Kurt’s hands could send shivers through his body because he was just that gentle. Kurt ran his hands over Blaine’s inner thighs, knowing that the area was one of the most sensitive for Blaine. He gave an almost devilish smirk as he wrapped a hand around him. He stroked his half-hard cock slowly, without much effort behind it. Unfortunately for Blaine, the teasing was what made him desperate.

“I’m going to come before we even do anything if you keep doing that,” he said. He realized that made him sound a little sexually desperate but he was; he and Kurt hadn’t done anything for the longest time and the teasing was making him crazy.

“I love you so much Blaine,” Kurt said, but he did lighten his touching because he didn’t want to end their time together before it even began. He touched him delicately, looking at him with adoring eyes. “You have no idea how much.” He grabbed a bottle of lube from the table and condoms. Blaine was going to always insist to be safe now. It was just best, calming the fears.

Kurt took quite awhile preparing Blaine for the act itself. He drew his fingers in circles around Blaine’s thighs, opening the lube with his other hand. Blaine watched him until his neck started to get sore and then laid back and just felt it. Kurt pressed a sharp finger inside of him and twisted, spreading the lube all over. He added another and moved them around a little, letting Blaine thrust his hips up against the intrusion. It felt wonderful and he didn’t feel any shame in acting positively desperate. “You’re so into me,” Kurt teased as he put on the condom. “I have never felt so connected in my life Blaine.”

Kurt lifted Blaine’s legs up high, before he even began to push in. Blaine lifted his legs to where they were nearly locked on Kurt’s thin shoulders. Kurt then pushed in. There was nothing more satisfying than the drag, burn and pleasure that came just from knowing that Kurt had him so completely. When Kurt was all the way inside of him he started thrusting slowly. Each drag of Kurt inside of him made him moan. He let out tiny whimpers that would have been pathetic if he wasn’t so crazy about what Kurt was doing to him inside and out. Kurt squeezed his hips a little.

Blaine moaned pathetically when Kurt’s hand found his cock again, stroking in time with the thrusts. Kurt was an extremely flexible lover. Blaine moaned, desperate. He had always seen sex as something so dirty and wrong, but with Kurt it was as close to holy as an experience could ever be. He clung to any bit of Kurt that he could get his hands on. He breathed out and practically wailed. He was teetering on the edge.  
“C’mon Blaine,” Kurt said. “Come.”

Blaine would have never thought a quick orgasm, a quick sexual encounter could be good but god it was. The pleasure hit him in waves. He came hard, feeling the tremors go through his body. “Kurt, Kurt, my Kurt, always my Kurt,” he breathed, spouting out nonsense about how much he loved Kurt and how Kurt was the only one in his world.

Kurt took awhile to come as well, thrusting slowly, leisurely into Blaine’s sensitive body. Blaine was able to watch him once he came down from his orgasm. Kurt was all pale skin, bright colors and beautiful eyes. A slick sheen of sweat pooled up on his forehead and he bit his lip in concentration. When Kurt reached his orgasm, Blaine watched those lovely eyes roll back a little. “God Kurt you’re perfect,” he said. “I have never seen a creature like you. I am so in love with you.”

“I love you too Blaine.”

He had never felt so much love in his life, honestly. It made everything feel like it would be okay then. The days went relatively fast, once life became “normal” again. Blaine was slowly getting himself to where he needed to be and he knew that school was the first step in getting there.  
At Kurt's encouraging, Blaine went to the local community center to sign up for a GED preparation course. It was quick to do and after signing up, he walked back through the community center, past a sign advertising an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting. He couldn’t believe who he saw coming his way. Blaine summoned up all the courage he could, looking the man straight in the eye instead of averting his gaze and walking the other way.

"What are you doing here, David?" he asked, with a calm but cold voice. Of course he had negativity toward Dave Karofsky, a man who bullied Kurt and then later went on to rough up the whore he hired, but he also pitied him and hoped he got better. He was stronger than petty thoughts and lingering anger from a day that he wanted to forget. "I seriously pray you're here for that AA meeting."

When he approached, Blaine could see he was probably right. The guy no longer looked like the closeted hockey player who messed him up. He was a wreck; he'd lost a considerable amount of weight and was scruffy with bloodshot eyes. "Don't say anything," he told Blaine sharply, but it came off as a plea, with none of the power he held before. "I am, okay? Lost it all. She found out 'bout the whores and called me out on what a fag I am. She's gone."

Blaine held his breath, shaking off the flashback that threatened. He didn’t need that. He was not going to be overruled by his life anymore. He took a deep breath and gave Dave a semi-shaky smile. It was fake but at the same time made him feel powerful.

"Career's gone, wife's gone, please don't bring this shit up here."

Blaine found strength. If he could clean up and get his life back on track, so could one of his anger driven clients. His motives for hiring Blaine had been awful and he'd hurt Blaine but his beloved Kurt did the same in hiring a prostitute and forgiving was better. "Come out of the closet," he ordered. "Head down the right to the AA meeting. I got better, thank Kurt Hummel, and so can you."

"Hummel..."

Blaine took off before Kurt could be brought up. He didn’t want to make the mess any bigger than it was. He felt proud of himself for letting go of the past and hoping as best as he could for the future. He was going back to school; he had forgiven those who used him in his past life. He was doing pretty damned good.

When Blaine got home, he told Kurt immediately what happened. “Really?” Kurt asked with soft eyes. He seemed very proud of Blaine for making the choice that he did. “Well, I hope he gets help. He’s not a part of our world anymore though, so it’s all on him.”

“We all make choices,” Blaine agreed. “Sometimes fate gives us a little push in the right direction too.”

“Anyway,” Kurt said. “Sad things aside, do you feel like babysitting?”

“What?” Blaine asked.

“Britt’s out of town and Tina had a family emergency.”

“Of course!”


	11. Chapter 11

When they arrived at the house, Tina looked absolutely frantic. She answered the door with messy hair and what suspiciously looked like a vomit stain on the collar of her dress. "Kurt, Blaine, thank you so much," she said seriously, ushering them in. "I can’t believe this had to happen on the one weekend when Brittany is gone. It's no big deal really, but I still have to get to my parents."

Kurt waved his hand, dismissing her worry. He was so confident that Blaine stopped and stared for a moment and then returned to looking at Tina. "Tina, you're fine," he said softly. "Blaine and I will be great with Rissa. She's my goddaughter, remember? I take that duty very seriously."

Tina smiled briefly. "You're an angel Kurt," she said. "I'm just not sure you've ever dealt with a slightly rambunctious infant. Rissa can be really fussy but she loves singing, so if she really causes a fuss then start singing to her and she should calm down. I've made enough bottles to last a life time. You'll know when she's hungry. In fact, feed her pretty soon. I have every number or piece of contact info that you'll need in the kitchen."

"I get you Tina,” Kurt said, even though Blaine was a actually a little overwhelmed by her mile-a-minute way of speaking.

She smiled and slowed down, glancing at her dress. She grumbled low. "Call me if you need anything and I'll call when I get to my mom's place. I left money in the bottom kitchen drawer if there is any emergency. I’m going to clean up and then get out of here.”

"Don't worry Tina," Blaine said, trying his best to be comforting. "We'll do a great job with her. She's a good girl, I'm sure, and Kurt and I work great together."

She flashed another bright smile at that. "I should trust in your bond," she said. "Alright, I'll call soon."

With that, Blaine and Kurt were left alone with a beautiful baby girl. They went up to the bedroom together, to find that the child was awake in her crib. She stared at them with big eyes, reaching up toward them and trying her best to sit up, even though she wasn’t quite big enough yet. Kurt reached into the crib and cautiously took the little girl in his arms. Blaine admired his bravery in that moment. “She is absolutely fascinating isn’t she?” Kurt asked, cradling her very protectively.

Blaine nodded. “She’s beautiful,” he mumbled softly, “and so tiny.”

As Tina predicted, it was pretty soon that Rissa needed a bottle. Kurt went to the kitchen, where they found that Tina had indeed made several bottles. Kurt looked at the bottles and then at Blaine. “Baby, can you hold her while I prepare the bottle?” he asked softly.

Blaine nodded and very boldly took her from Kurt, making sure to protect her head. He didn’t remember much about baby care, honestly, but he remembered that babies had very delicate heads that needed to be protected. He took Rissa into his arms and held her there, watching as the babies face lit up with something and she gurgled and cooed. “Hi Rissa,” he said softly, finding that his voice instantly lowered into baby talk. He talked and played with the baby, bouncing her lightly and waiting for Kurt to finish the bottle.

Kurt came back a few moments later. “Here, Blaine,” he said. “I already checked to make sure it wasn’t too hot. You feed her.”

Blaine shook his head a little. “No,” he mumbled. “I wouldn’t be very good at feeding her. Why don’t you?” he asked Kurt. The baby looked up at the two men with an expression that reminded him very much of Tina. It was serious but serene and sweet.

“Rissa really likes you,” Kurt said giving Blaine a look that could only be described as the puppy dog eyes. Blaine tried to avert his gaze but he was totally done in. He sat down in a comfortable position and then took the bottle from Kurt, holding it up to the baby’s lips. She instantly took to drinking, staring at Blaine with her bright expressive eyes the whole time. She moved her hands around, resting one on the side of the bottle as she drank. He looked up to meet Kurt’s eyes, knowing that Kurt saw how sunk he was, how fascinated he was by the beautiful baby.

“I have to burp her, don’t I?” he asked, when the baby was finished. Kurt nodded slowly, so he raised the child to his chest and gently pat her back. When he was in high school, his friend Jeff’s mom had given birth to a baby, and that was how she did it. He rubbed her back, patting lightly and hoping to have the right effect. Unfortunately, Rissa did not burp even with the gentle stimulation. Blaine remembered from health class that she had to. He looked at Kurt.

“Let me try?” Kurt asked.

It only took about a minute on Kurt’s chest for Rissa to not only burp, but to spit up down his back. Blaine suppressed a giggle at the horrified look on his boyfriend’s face. “Oh my god, what is that?” Kurt asked in a shrill voice.

“I believe that’s baby puke,” Blaine said, gently taking the baby back from Kurt, who was trying his best not to scream and flail if Blaine guessed right.

“This is so disgusting!” Kurt yelled out. “Yet, I can’t be mad at her because she’s so adorable. Do you mind watching her while I…um, clean up?”

Blaine shook his head. He didn’t mind at all. Kurt took that cue to run up to the bathroom to wash off. In the meantime, Blaine took the tiny child into her nursery, because she had messed her clothes too. He went into the drawer by the crib and found a pink onesie with a cute yellow flower on the front. As he laid it on her bed, he smelled the fact that Rissa needed a new diaper too. “You’re just a mess, aren’t you little miss?” He fetched a diaper, still balancing the baby in one arm and then laid her down on the bed.

Changing the baby was difficult, to say the least. Blaine had never done it before so he struggled with the diaper’s tabs, getting the baby powder on, wiping her off, just about everything. Kurt returned just as he finished the diaper and was getting her clothes on. “How did you know how to change a diaper?” Kurt asked, wrinkling his nose at the smelly bundle sitting next to the baby.   
“I didn’t,” Blaine admitted. He finished changing the now nice-smelling baby into the onesie and then handed her over to Kurt. “She’s sorry.”

“I forgive her,” Kurt teased, “but just because she’s cute and her mommas would kill me if I didn’t.”

Everything was pretty calm for awhile, until a few hours later when the baby got very fussy. Her face turned red and she cried loudly. The noise was ear-splitting and Blaine looked to Kurt for answers. “Well, Tina said that when she gets fussy, singing really calms her down,” he said, looking more than a little bit frantic. “Maybe we should try singing something to her.”

Blaine nodded, bouncing the baby lightly in his arms. “It’s okay Rissa-dear,” he said. “Kurt, maybe you should sing to her. You have a really sweet, soothing voice and I’m sure that would be enough to make her feel better.”

“Why don’t we sing together?”

“Okay,” Blaine mumbled, sitting down on the sofa and curling his legs underneath himself, while rocking the baby gently. “What do we sing?”

Kurt frowned. “Um,” he said. “Rockabye Baby.”

“That song is sadistic and scary,” Blaine pointed out.

In the end, Kurt and Blaine ended up singing Rissa every lullaby they knew. Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star, followed by Are You Sleeping?, followed by Hush Little Baby. The baby calmed a little to watch them with wonderment, but still, she fussed. Oddly enough, it was their strange version of a Beatles’ song medley that got her snoring. “Tina has good music taste,” Kurt said, shrugging. “I should’ve tried Britney too. God knows that’s what Britt sings to her baby.”

“Well if she wakes up we’ll go for it; you’d do a killer Britney.”

Blaine laid the baby in her crib and returned to Kurt, cuddling into his side on the couch. “What an amazing day,” he said softly. He was getting sleepy, tired from the long day of focusing on the baby.

“It was,” Kurt said, running a hand through Blaine’s hair. “Blaine, I really want to marry you and have beautiful, perfect children like that. Would that be okay?” Kurt cuddled himself up closer, pressing his face into Blaine’s shoulder.

Blaine yawned. “That’s a deal Kurt, I’m holding you up to that.”


	12. Chapter 12

“Thank you both so much for covering for me,” Tina said, scooping the tiny child up in her arms. Rissa cooed and seemed to just light up now that one of her mommies was home. She wrapped one of her tiny hands in Tina’s hair, making a gurgling sound that was pleasantly close to laughter. “Please tell me that this child was good to you.” She turned to Kurt and Blaine and had a smile on her face. She seemed relieved, so Blaine had to infer that the unnamed family crisis was now solved. He was glad she was home, even though he’d enjoyed the babysitting immensely.

“She was very good,” Blaine assured the woman, helping Tina untangle the tiny hand from pulling out her hair. Tina smiled at him gratefully. “I think that I can speak for both of us when I say that we’re a little in love with her. Also, she puked on Kurt, but he still loves her, so that’s a pretty big deal, right?”

Tina’s eyes got wide and she started laughing immediately. “She puked on you?” she asked Kurt giggling. “I really shouldn’t be surprised considering how much laundry Britt and I have ended up doing in the past couple of months but really, wow. You would think that anyone would know better than to throw up on Kurt Hummel.”

Kurt shrugged, shaking his head. “I forgive you, Riss, but just this time,” he joked, leaning close to kiss the baby’s forehead. He pulled back and gave Tina a smile. Rissa’s gaze, however, quickly changed from staring at Tina and looking up at the man who kissed her, to move right back to Blaine.

All three of them had to notice the fact that the infant was rather fixated on Blaine. “I think my daughter’s developed a new infatuation,” Tina said, pointing out what they all noticed. The baby’s eyes keep fixating on Blaine. It made him feel very important. “Would you guys come back and babysit again some time? Or Kurt, if you’re busy, maybe you could come by Blaine? I mean, if you wanted to. Brittany and I are pretty busy and it’d be nice from time to time. Plus, I can’t deny my baby girl her new best friend.”

Blaine blushed. “I would love to,” he said.

Blaine and Kurt went home reluctantly, both feeling pretty satisfied. “I would say that you are very happy right now,” Kurt said as they left, gripping Blaine’s hand tightly in his. Blaine relished in the comfort of the gesture and the general good feeling brought on by their babysitting efforts. He was happy. He was completely content, something that years earlier he would have never imagined for himself.

“I would say that you are right,” he said, squeezing back as they got to Kurt’s car. Blaine slipped into the passenger seat and gave the other man a happy look. He was truly contented and everything seemed to be getting better and better. “I can say to you that I am very, very happy right now.”

Blaine was happy. He had a family for the first time in forever and he had Kurt.

Friday afternoon, Blaine came into the office a few hours after Kurt did. Kurt insisted that he wait, because their Fridays were usually so slow and Blaine deserved the extra rest after all the schoolwork he had been doing, but Blaine was eager to get to work. He liked getting stuff done and felt more comfortable when he had an actual routine going down.

He was a little tired though. He had just started school and well, everything was a lot of effort. It took a lot out of a person to turn things around and get life back in order. So that was why he was a little exhausted when Brittany came running up to him. “Blaine, I need help,” she said, giving him an almost childlike pout. “I’m really confused with something down in the supply room. Can you help me, please?”

She looked pretty desperate, so even though Blaine wasn’t sure he was the best man for the job, he came following after her. She rushed down to the stockroom, moving as quickly as possible. “Come on Blaine,” she urged, forcing the big door open.

Blaine stopped dead in his tracks when he walked into the room. There was a banner set up that read in big, swooping letters: BLAINE WILL YOU MARRY ME?

Trying to deal with the shock, shaking his head, Blaine turned toward Brittany again to see that she was rushing into Tina’s arms. Tina was in the room with little Rissa in a carrier next to her. There was someone else. Mike stood at the corner of the room, holding hands with another boy. Wes? Blaine’s eyes got wider by the second as he took in each bit of the scene around him. It looked like the stockroom of Kurt’s office but felt like he’d walked into another world.

Finally, he focused on Kurt, who knelt down under the banner and opened up a black ring box. Blaine started crying the second he realized that no, his mind wasn’t playing tricks on him and yes, the scene in front of him was one hundred percent the real deal. He forced himself to focus and saw the ring that Kurt was revealing to him. “So, how about it Blaine?” Kurt asked with a stunning amount of vulnerability in his wavering voice. “Will you marry me?”

Blaine tried to find his voice but found that absolutely nothing was coming out, so instead, he nodded his head rapidly up and down. Kurt slid the ring onto his finger and then stood back up, looking Blaine in the eyes and just waiting for him to respond. Blaine found it in himself to leap forward, wrapping his arms around Kurt’s neck and holding on for dear life. He leaned forward and captured Kurt’s lips in a kiss, amazed at everything that had happened.

Life had begun.

A few hours later, once Blaine had stopped crying and could find his voice, he approached Mike. “You guys came all the way out here to watch Kurt propose to me?” he asked with a skeptical look on his face.

Mike shook his head. “It’s my vacation,” he said, “and well, Wes really likes New York.” It was a feeble excuse, if any excuse at all. Blaine reached out and hugged Mike tightly. The man had quickly become his best friend. “Plus, I couldn’t miss Kurt proposing to you for the world. I mean seriously, I’m a little bit of a romantic myself if you haven’t noticed.”   
Blaine smiled, looking across the way to where Kurt and Brittany were talking quite animatedly. “It’s all going to get better from here on out, isn’t it?” he asked. “I’m okay. I’m going to school and I’m marrying Kurt Hummel. It’s alright. I’m alright.”


End file.
